


Sure Told

by barbex



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Injury, Jealousy, The Black Emporium Exchange, romance tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26040400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbex/pseuds/barbex
Summary: Mina Cadash is not a woman of many words and she's not gonna chase after a guy who is hung up on his ex. But it sure does grate on her.
Relationships: Female Cadash/Varric Tethras
Comments: 16
Kudos: 30
Collections: Black Emporium 2020





	Sure Told

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Theneras](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theneras/gifts).



* * *

"And if you get him killed, I'm gonna feed you your own eyeballs." Bianca Davri fixes her with a stare that might have weakened a man's knee, but not Mina's. They are the same height but Mina Cadash still stares Bianca down. She knows she can be impressive if she wants to, even when her opponent is supposedly a genius.

"You got a lot of nerve, talking like that," Mina says, crossing her arms in front of her chest. 

"What exactly are you on about?"

Mina looks over towards the door, where Varric is speaking with a merchant, and curses her heart for speeding up as she looks at him. "It's obviously none of my business what Varric does, or what he thinks of you. But between you and me, I'm not the one who delivered red lyrium to Corypheus while Varric thought the spread of red lyrium was his fault, did nothing to relieve him of this guilt and then kept banking on favours of a relationship that has long run its course."

Bianca lets out a harsh laugh. "But of course, and _you_ have no personal interest in him and what the two of us are."

"Exactly, I don't care and it's none of my business anyway. Go have your heartfelt goodbye and then get out of my sight." Mina turns and stomps towards the rotunda, to get away before she says something that she will regret. 

The door falls closed behind her with a satisfying loud thud and a yelp sounds from the scaffolding above her head as a paintbrush falls in front of her feet. Red paint spreads out in the pattern of a burning sun, some of it hitting her shoes.

"Inquisitor," Solas says above her, a strained sigh under every syllable. "Could you give me my paintbrush back, please?"

"Sure." Mina carries the brush to the ladder and climbs up to hand it over. "Sorry." She sits down on the platform and lets her feet dangle over the edge. Solas continues painting, the brush whispering over the rough surface of the wall. 

Mina looks past her feet towards the floor, where she left a trail of paint as she carried the brush back. From up here it looks like blood, and all the spilled blood in her life assaults her memory in flashes. Not exactly happy memories but still better than thinking about Varric and what he does with Bianca right now.

The whispering of the paintbrush stops. "Should I be worried?" Solas looks over to her, the tip of the brush still on the wall. A drop of red paint crawls along the handle, staining Solas' fingers. 

Mina quickly looks away. "Worried about what?"

"Your silence is louder than any of your usual chattering." 

"A joke, from you?" 

Solas, true to Varric's nickname, chuckles. "I happen to know that you do talk sometimes."

"But now I don't want to."

"Then don't," Solas says. "But before you break my door or your gauntlets snap off your fingers, you might want to work off this energy elsewhere."

Mina looks at her hands and deliberately unclenches them. It takes effort. Her fist is aching to hit someone. "You're right, enough moping." She climbs down the ladder and gets out of the main hall without anyone taking note of her. Bianca and Varric are nowhere to be seen, probably saying goodbye somewhere. Maybe she kisses him. Her gauntlets creak again as she clenches and unclenches her fists.

Cassandra isn't at her usual training station, so Mina picks up a practice sword and goes through the warm up exercises that Cassandra had taught her. The sword is a bit too long for her, humans sized, not dwarf sized but it still makes sense to practice with one. You never know when you have to pick up a sword in battle that isn't your own.

Ending the form with a wide swing, the tip of the sword hits a small training dummy, causing it to swing on its flexible pole and without thinking she drops the sword and punches the thing in the face. It creaks, straw popping out of the fabric and she hits it again and again, hitting that stupid grin someone stitched on the sackcloth until she can't see it anymore. 

"I think that's enough." 

Mina stops, looking at her clenched fist and the straw that's sticking out of her gauntlets. The training dummy has fallen off its pole and for the last few minutes she has been kneeling over it and pummeled what was left of the thing with her fists. Cassandra's shadow falls over her and she slowly sits back.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Mina leans back, taking off the gauntlets and wipes over the shaved sides of her head. 

Cassandra studies the remains of straw and sackcloth and shakes her head. "This was excessive, even for you."

"I'm angry, alright? I came here to spar with you but you weren't here."

Cassandra laughs out. "In this mood? I wouldn't spar with you anyway, I value my health."

Mina sighs and holds out her hand, letting Cassandra help her up. "Thanks."

Cassandra looks at her and then down to her hands. "I'm probably not the best person to try to give advice for — "

"It's alright," Mina interrupts. "I really don't want to hear it." 

"Thank the Maker." Cassandra lets out a breath. 

"Don't worry about me, I'll take care of it." She gives Cassandra a frowny nod and stomps away without any clear direction. She stares at the ground as she stomps through the courtyard until she runs into a living wall.

"Hey, boss," the Iron Bull says. 

Mina glares up and snaps at him, "What?"

"Ah yes, I heard that you're in an excellent mood."

"Leave me alone."

Bull puts his giant hand on her shoulder, making her armor creak. "Naw, I don't think I will. I think you need a good drink and maybe even an ear."

"You're offering one of yours? Balancing out against the eye?"

Bull smirks but doesn't go along with her joke. "Come on, Flissa has an ale with your name on ready."

"Damn you, you spy. You just want to make me talk."

Bull laughs but doesn't deny.

Three ales later she curses her small stature once again because no training can ever make up for the advantage the Iron Bull has over her for sheer size. He has pulled her to a table on the upper level where they can drink alone and his eye is steady on her, waiting.

The alcohol buzzes pleasantly in her head and she leans back to rest her head against the wall. She closes her eyes as she takes a sip from her forth ale. "Well done, Hissrad, you got me drunk. Now, what do you want to know?"

"Obviously what has gotten you so angry that you destroyed Cassandra's sack friend."

The alcohol makes that sound way more funny than it is and Mina dissolves into giggles. "Her sack friend, hehehe!" She can't stop laughing and would have fallen off the bench if Bull hadn't caught her and pulled her in his lap. 

"Well, so much for that conversation," Bull says quietly, holding her back to his chest. "I always forget what a lightweight you are."

"No, I know how to... I talk!" She leans against the broad expanse of Bull's chest, looking up to him and the four horns on his head. "I can... can talk!" 

"Tell you what, boss, I make sure you get a good night's sleep and then I bring you coffee in the morning. We can talk then."

"Yeah." Mina's head lolls back and she lets the Iron Bull throw her over his shoulder and carry her out of the tavern. Outside, the cold wind stops her from drifting off and she squints at the light from the setting sun. 

"Is that the shapely bottom of our illustrious inquisitor I'm seeing there?" Varric's voice carries laughter but he scowls at the Iron Bull.

"Varric!" Mina calls out, trying to look over her own shoulder to see him but the Iron Bull's head is in the way. "Varric, are you mad at me?"

Varric steps behind the Iron Bull to look at her. "Min, why would I be mad?"

"Cause I told Bianca to piss off."

"Guys," the Iron Bull groans, "this is not the place and time for this conversation."

Varric looks at his boots and shakes his head. "No, I'm not mad." He straightens and turns to the tavern. "I heard Flissa holds an ale for me, I better get to that."

The Iron Bull gives Varric a nod and walks on. Mina, still hanging over his shoulder, waves at Varric. "Varric," she calls out, "I just wanted to say — "

"Not now, boss," the Iron Bull interrupts.

"Why not?" Mina drawls, the words slurring. "Hey Varric, you desef... deser... deserve so much better."

Varric stands at the tavern door with his hand on the handle and sighs. "Well, good to know."

"Yeah," Mina says, pleased with herself. But she's distracted by the constant pressure on her stomach and hanging upside down does funny things to her insides. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"No you don't, not on my back." The Iron Bull swings her forward and holds her away from himself as she retches up the last ale. 

Mina wipes her mouth on her arm and the Iron Bull sets her gently on her feet, holding her steady with a hand on her back. "Better now?

"Yeah." She sways but with the weight of Bull's hand, she manages to walk to her room without tripping. She opens the door and wants to protest when the Iron Bull follows her in but tiredness has settled in her bones like iron and she is grateful that he helps her out of her boots and armor. 

Her head feels too heavy to hold up and she falls back on the ridiculous soft pillows. "He really does deserve better, don't you think?"

"From what I've seen, you could be right." The Iron Bull covers her with a stuffed blanket and takes a step back. "But I think we should talk about that tomorrow."

"I told him, so now he knows."

"You sure did, boss." The Iron Bull laughs, a loud rumble that walks down the stairs and only disappears when the door closes behind him.

"I told him," she says to herself with a satisfied grin. "Now he knows."

***

"Oh fuck me, I told him," Mina groans. "Now he fucking knows." 

Her head is pounding but even worse is the feeling of her tongue covered with fur and the taste of all unpleasant things of last night. She falls more than climbs out of the ridiculously large bed and hurries into the bath to rinse her mouth and clean her teeth. At last, she climbs up the steps of the half barrel of cold water and sits down inside and drops her head forward until the water closes over her head. It's blessedly silent under the water, except for that insistent voice retelling the events of the day before.

When she climbs out of the barrel, she feels at least half way dwarven again. She could have activated the warming runes but the coldness of the water clears her head better than even Bull's coffee.

As if on cue, heavy steps come up the stairs, bringing wafts of coffee scent with them. The Iron Bull sets two steaming cups on the desk and leans back against the desk, grinning at her. "Good morning, Sunshine."

"You know, some dwarves would consider that nickname an insult." Mina lets the towel drop and steps over to her mess of a trunk to take out a new undershirt.

"Makes you a surface dwarf, does it?"

"Yep." She puts on leggings and a light jacket and grabs one of the coffee cups. Allowing herself a first sip in silence, she sits back in her chair and feels after the hot liquid going down her throat. "Alright, how bad is it?"

"Varric's been quite thoughtful last night, after you told him that he deserved better."

"So I really did tell him that."

"You sure did."

Mina takes another sip of coffee. "Well. It's the truth, even if it's gonna be awkward."

Bull drains his coffee cup in one gulp and sets it back on the desk. "Tell me, have you been thinking about Varric and who he deserves often?"

"Fuck you."

Bull grins even wider. "Aww, you know I would."

"Oh, shut up."

"You didn't answer the question."

Mina drinks her coffee, very slowly. Much more slowly than the rather mediocre taste of it warrants. At last, she puts the cup down and looks at Bull. "He's not your normal surface dwarf. Stayed in this whole mess even when he didn't have to. Saw all that red lyrium and still stayed. Kind of a good guy, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is." Bull stands up and looks out the window. "So how long have you been thinking that?" 

"As if you don't know that, Hissrad."

Bull laughs out. "Maybe I want you to say it for yourself."

"Fuck." Mina buries her face in her hands and rubs her temples. "You didn't bring enough coffee for this."

Bull picks up the two empty cups and turns to leave. "You should make up your mind, boss, and just ask the guy out. Cause the way I see it, this whole situation here, doesn't exactly spell out for many second chances."

He doesn't wait for her to react and gives her a nod as he goes back down the stairs with the empty coffee cups in his hand.

Mina stares out the window until her eyes burn. She blinks a few times and then puts on her chainmail and boots, forgoing the rest of the armor for now. Skyhold feels safe enough that she can walk around without all her plate. For the same reason she leaves her sword in the stand, taking only a dagger and a light hammer to make her way to the kitchen.

Her breakfast consists of a plate loaded with bread, vegetables and a mug of goat milk that she balances on her knees at the top of the stairs, overlooking the courtyard. She takes her time eating, enjoying the peace for as long as she can. Nobody has discovered her yet. And as long as she sits here, she can avoid running into a certain dwarf.

"Ahem," a very familiar voice says behind her. 

Mina's heart does an embarrassing jump and she would have cursed under her breath if her mouth wasn't full of goat milk. She swallows and turns around. "Hello, Varric." She tries a careful smile but his face stays scowling.

"You have..." he makes a vague gesture towards her face. 

She frowns. "What?"

Now the corner of Varric's mouth twitches. "A milk moustache." 

"A milk — shit." She wipes her mouth and mutters a curse.

"Don't worry, it looked very impressive," Varric says and grins widely at her. 

Mina has to look away, his smile always makes her blush so easily. 

"I wanted to talk to you about what you said last night," Varric starts. He sits down next to her on the step and leans forward with his elbows on his knees. 

He's missing the crossbow on his back, his other Bianca, and the memory of the name makes Mina scowl. She puts the plate to the side and turns to him. "I know it wasn't polite form or anything, I was obviously drunk and should have kept my mouth shut but I stand by what I said. You deserve better than her."

Varric chuckles. "And here I was wondering how to ask you if you really meant it that way."

She shrugs. "You know me, I'm not one to fuck around with lots of words."

"No you're not. It's refreshing, actually." He stares straight ahead, lost in thought.

Mina looks at his profile. Her stomach ties itself into several knots and she has quite enough of all this nonsense. She stands up and goes one step down so that she can look into his eyes. "Listen, I think you're a good guy and I like you. But I don't get why you're still so hung up on her."

"She's — "

"I know, she's a genius and fabulous all around. You two were a thing for more than ten years, in secret, and I bet that was all very romantic and shit." She takes a deep breath, willing her voice to harden. "I'm not even talking about the mess with the red lyrium and what a break of trust that was. What I mean is, do you still even know her? I know it's great to have an optional something somewhere to maybe fall back on one day but will that even work? People change over time and maybe you're just clinging to some memory of love." 

Varric looks at her with interest. "Never knew a carta muscle to be so perceptive in matters of the heart."

"I'm full of surprises," Mina scoffs. 

Varric still looks at her, a grin spreading on his face. "And I think that's the longest I have ever heard you talk."

His amusement doesn't sit quite right with her and she turns away to hide the expression on her face. "Well, I'm done now." She goes down the steps but stops when she hears him following her and turns around. "What?"

"Why the sudden interest in my love life, Min?"

Mina rolls her eyes. "Don't be dense. You're my friend, I'd rather see you happy. And I like you, a lot, but I'm not getting between you and your optional-maybe-someday."

Varric stares at her with his mouth open and Mina rather doesn't wait for him to come up with a witty remark. She turns and walks away as fast as she can, so that he can't see her blush and she doesn't have to see his amusement. 

"Boss?" The Iron Bull materializes next to her at the foot of the stairs. 

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Mina snarls, "are you following me around to collect blackmail material?"

"No, but maybe I should start doing that." The Iron Bull easily keeps up with her angry walk, casually strolling along her side. "What made you angry this time?"

Mina stops and tilts her head up to look at Bull. "Well, you tell a guy that you like him and it's so outrageous to him, that he's speechless. How's that for a blow?"

The Iron Bull winces in sympathy. "Harsh."

"Yeah." 

The horn blowing to announce a wartable meeting is a welcome distraction and she waves towards Bull and climbs up the stairs to the main hall. Hopeful she'll have something to do now, far away from Skyhold and a certain dwarf.

***

They have to return early from the Emprise du Lion. Mina has her eyes closed, she hears Leliana greet them at the gate through the rushing of blood in her ears. "What happened?"

The Iron Bull climbs down from his warnug, cradling Mina in his arm. "Red templar. Got her good on her side. Dorian healed some of it but she needs proper care."

Dorian's voice comes from behind them. "I did what I can but it's not my specialty."

"It burns, so red."

"We know, Cole," Dorian says. "Get Solas, we'll take her to the infirmary."

The jostling of the Iron Bull hurrying through the courtyard makes her sleepy and by the time the medicinal scent of the infirmary hits her, she just wants to dive into the darkness.

"Hey, boss, stay with me."

"Wanna sleep," she groans.

"Not yet." The Iron Bull keeps his voice light but she hears the strain of worry under it.

That wakes her up. "That bad, huh?"

The Iron Bull mumbles something unintelligible and no matter how hard she tries to stay awake, darkness pulls her under. 

The distinct song of lyrium and magic is the next thing she senses. With effort, she opens her eyes and waits for the world to come into focus. Magic flows into her side, pushing against the throbbing pain.

Solas looks at her, his hands glowing as he holds them over her side. He keeps his voice low, "I'm glad to see you back with us."

Mina blinks, the roof of one of the simple healing huts coming into focus. "How long?"

"Three days," Solas whispers. The glow from his hands stops and he leans back, rolling his shoulders.

"Why are you whispering?"

Solas looks past her head and gestures towards the side of the hut. She turns, wincing as the wound in her waist protests against the movement. A chair leans against the wall and in it sleeps Varric in some contorted way that can't possibly be comfortable. 

"He has hardly slept while you were healing," Solas murmurs. "He's been here the whole time."

"Sentimental bastard." Mina leans back on the pillow and sighs. "What am I supposed to do with that information?"

"Accept it, maybe?"

Mina catalogs the various aches in her body and shifts to find a position that doesn't hurt quite so much. "Accept what? That he'll flirt with me, as long as the true lady of his heart doesn't ask him for a favour again?"

Solas shakes his head. "Love isn't singular. And it's more than just one song sung in the same tune between two people."

"You getting poetic is always a bad sign." Mina strains her neck, the pillow is harder than the one on her own bed and she has to admit that she has gotten used to that orlesian softness.

"I'm just trying to say..." Solas stares up to the ceiling and sighs. "He obviously has feelings for you too, why not give this a chance?"

Mina scowls at him and huffs, "I'm not sharing with Serah Someday."

"Maybe you don't have to," Solas whispers, as he watches Varric stretch and blink as he wakes up. Solas stands up and washes his hands in a bucket. "I'll be back later to check on your bandages."

Varric blinks after him as he leaves and then looks towards her cot. "Hey, Min, how're you feeling?"

"Like a hurlock chewed on me and spat me out again." She puts her arm over her eyes so that she doesn't have to look at him. The deep shadows under his eyes and the tangible relief emanating from him at her recovery do weird things to her insides. She has enough to worry about, she doesn't need to worry about Varric's sentimentality too.

"It looked really bad for some time." His voice suddenly comes from right at her side and she drops her arm to look at him. 

"I still feel like shit but I guess that's good."

"Feeling like shit isn't dead, yes." Varric stares at the spot where the blanket covers the bandages. "Not dead is pretty good too."

He looks so hurt and scared that Mina can't stand it. She pulls the blanket aside to show him the bandages. For a moment she is shocked herself by the size of it, half of her ribcage and down to her hips is all covered with pristine white linen.

"There, it's all good now." She pulls the blanket back over it and lies back, avoiding his eyes. She doesn't need his pity. "I appreciate that you watched over me, even though it was probably out of some false sentimentality but — "

"Shut up."

Mina whips her head around, something her neck protests immensely against, and stares at him.

Varric has his fists clenched at his sides and frowns at her. "Don't send me off like I'm just some faithful mabari to you." 

"I.."

"No, it's my turn now. I had a lot of time to myself while you pranced around in the Emprise, to think about what you said before you left." 

Mina shakes her head. "Don't make it a bigger thing than it is, it's really — "

She can't continue because Varric kisses her. Kisses her sure and firm. She can't even react at first, her mouth open but frozen. But then, it turns out that Varric is really an excellent kisser and she melts into the kiss. His hands tangle in her hair and she can stretch up just enough to card her fingers into his chest hair as their tongues slide against each other.

At last, Varric breaks the kiss, breathing hard and he leans his forehead against hers. "As I was saying, I had a lot of time to think, and I've come to several conclusions."

Mina breathes in his scent, happiness bubbling up in her that almost has her giggle. "And you'll tell me all of them?"

"Maybe later, for now I'll stick to the main ones." Varric leans back a bit to look at her and smiles softly. "First of all, there is no optional-maybe-someday anymore, there possibly never was. Whatever fantasy I was hanging onto, it was just that, a fantasy. And secondly," he caresses her cheek with his thumb, "you are the most amazing woman I have ever met and I have met some incredible women in my time so this really is saying something, but you — you are a whole different matter. And I kept thinking, if I let you slip away because of some stupid optional-maybe-someday, I should just go and move to the Deep Roads and become a dancer for the darkspawn."

Mina laughs but her wound doesn't like that. "Hah, ouch, you cannot make me laugh."

"But later, maybe?" Varric asks, his face suddenly serious.

She takes his hand in hers and presses a kiss to his knuckles. "Yes, later you can make me laugh as much and as long as you like." 

"It's a promise then," Varric says. He wipes a strain of hair away and kisses her forehead. "You should rest some more. I want to make you laugh a lot."

Mina closes her eyes and lets out a long breath. "You should rest too."

"I will."

"And Bianca — "

"Is just a crossbow."

Mina manages to smile, despite exhaustion pulling at her. "Will you be here when I wake up?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Varric pulls the chair over to the cot and sits down. He takes her hand in his, his thumb softly stroking her fingers. "Now sleep. We have a lot of laughing to catch up on."

  
  



End file.
